Corsair Vengeance C70 Case Review: Going for the Gamers
by Dustin Sklavos on May 17, 2012 5:45 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- mid-tower
Conclusion: Corsair's First Real Misfire
Doing two generally negative case reviews in a row isn't a happy job, and this one is only made worse because frankly, I like Corsair's stuff. I have Corsair RAM in my desktop along with a Corsair SSD, and I'm still using the K90 keyboard. I'm used to being fairly impressed with their kit, but the Corsair Vengeance C70 is a real misstep for their case lineup. Aesthetically it feels off, though that's admittedly a matter of taste, but more importantly the performance is poor.
It's tough to pinpoint exactly where thermal performance went awry for the C70, but I have a couple of theories. The first is that their thermal performance has always been more middle-to-good. That's not necessarily a major problem, at least on the first few cases, because as engineers they're still experimenting and working out the kinks. Internal design has been gradually improved over time, but it's always been incremental. In the C70 that evolution seems to have almost ground to a halt, with only the cage-mounted intake fans being a real change. I also think the amount of ventilation on the C70 may actually be harming performance, as air isn't channeled in a way to maximize performance.
I'm reasonably certain that an end user willing to tinker and test different cooling configurations in the C70 will be able to get better results than I did, but by extension Corsair should've had this figured out before the case even shipped. Whatever the optimal fan configuration might be, I'm pretty sure this isn't it. The fans that come preinstalled are actually fairly quiet at full throttle, but they don't seem to be moving a whole lot of air either. As a result, the case's performance is severely short-changed. Slightly better airflow from the case fans can actually do wonders for reducing thermals and noise, as the fans on the processor and graphics card wind up not having to work anywhere near as hard.
Even with our limited comparison results right now, there's no good reason to go with the C70 over competing offerings. Corsair's own Obsidian 550D costs the same amount of money in retail, is very nearly as customizable, and is much, much quieter. By the same token, Antec's Eleven Hundred costs as much as $40 less than the C70, has some of that enthusiast kick to the external finish, and has substantially better performance at similar or better noise levels. You lose the ability to mount a 240mm radiator in the top of the case, but Antec's similar P280 gives you that option back, and it's still $20 less.
The ultimate problem I have with the C70 is that Corsair is addressing things that were already its strong suits instead of shoring up their weaknesses. Corsair cases were already easy to assemble, and while the increased ease of assembly is welcome, it wasn't the problem. Aesthetically Corsair has always made fairly good-looking cases, so why deviate so wildly from what's been working out fine for them? Meanwhile, the one real weakness of Corsair's cases—thermal performance—is not only left unchecked, but seems to actually be a bit worse.
At the end of it all there's just no reason to buy the Vengeance C70 unless you're married to the look. Antec will outperform it for less money with either the Eleven Hundred or the P280, and even Corsair has better deals with the Carbide 500R and Obsidian 550D. It's easy to build and service, but that's all it really has going for it, and unfortunately that just isn't enough.
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LeftSide - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
I couldn't agree more! I actually love the design and want the green, but I would have to replace the glass in the side. The perforations just look cheap. I wonder if it's easy to replace?ClutchNerd - Wednesday, March 13, 2013 - link
Double wall some 32-bit digi camo duct tape from walmart. Effective, clean (Doesn't get that crap dust residue buildup), and goes great with the olive green. FYI to everyone calling it "Ammo can green"....it's actually "Olive green" which is the exact same color used by the military.Barbarossa - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
George from Corsair here - first things first, the review was very thorough, Dustin. Thanks for paying attention to the details.The thermal performance results are somewhat surprising - we've got a couple of internal test platforms we use to just thermal performance, and the C70 was among the best. In fact, the specific reason we moved the fans to the back of the hard drive cage was because it dropped GPU temps in our tests 2-3 degrees at idle and even more at load.
Thanks for the comments and suggestions - even though your results don't match ours, there are so many possible configurations that I'm sure we were bound to be surprised sooner or later.
It sounds like the ID isn't really for you - that's fine. The C70 is the most outlandish/aggressive design we've ever done. We knew it'd be love it or hate it. As a company, one of our strengths is refined and streamlined designs - we felt like taking a step in another direction with this case.
Again, thanks for the review - even though it isn't 100% positive, it only helps us develop better cases going forward.
Dustin Sklavos - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
George, I'm really psyched that you guys popped up here.You know I'm a big fan of Corsair's hardware and I kind of just have to report on what my experience is with the kit. As far as the ID goes, I tried to be fairly balanced with it and keep in mind what the readers are usually into, but judging from the comments here you don't have anything to worry about.
I think it's definitely an unusual step for Corsair. I don't want to ever discourage you or any other company from being daring with their products and trying radically different approaches/designs/etc. I just feel like you weren't as experimental with the internal design as you could've been. Apart from the random crap like trouble tightening the screws, the overall logic of how the case comes together is stellar and I want to see that progress in future cases.
You guys are SO CLOSE to making a bulletproof case design and I think you'll get there. I want to see the ease of assembly and typical acoustics of a Corsair and the thermal performance of a SilverStone. Corsair doesn't have an enthusiast standby in their stable yet quite like Antec's P180/182 were or SilverStone's FT02 can be, but like I said...you're really close.
As a sidenote, if you'd like to share your testing data with me and what your results looked like, it can at least inform my future reviews.
LeftSide - Saturday, May 19, 2012 - link
George, can you comment on how the side plexiglass is installed? Could I easily replace it with a custom solid plexiglass? The perforations for the side mount fans are the only thing keeping me from getting this case.soloburrito - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
I don't see how any air can make it past the hard drive cage and feed those front fans. I bet removing just one cage and having a fan pulling in cool air directly from outside the case would make a noticeable difference in tempsThat said, i really like the design as far as "gaming" cases go. It stands out, but yet it's still fairly classy maintaining clean lines and staying away from cheap, glossy plastic to add "flare". Check out the other colors. The white version looks fantastic with the "smoked" side window.
Open up the hard drive cages a little more and add a top fan from the factory. A $140 case that only includes 3 120mm fans (albeit good quality) seems a little too frugal, Corsair. At the very least put the third fan on the side panel or roof to stimulate better airflow inside the case.
Zebo - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
Looks like something you attach to a tank not really suitable for house.milkod2001 - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
@Corsair George,if you still here,
is Corsair planning in future revisions of 600T add all magnetic dust filters and internal USB3 header as 550D comes with? These are only thing holding me off that case :(
Barbarossa - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
I can't comment on any unannounced stuff. Sorry man.Gunbuster - Friday, May 18, 2012 - link
I wish newegg would get these in stock....